MIAMI — One year after the Miami Heat assembled a super team, putting LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh together, the NBA locked out players and sought a collective bargaining agreement that contained player salaries and dispersed players throughout the league.

It prevented the highest revenue-generating teams from hoarding all of the best players and created more competitive balance.

Teams throughout the league are improving, and there is the possibility the Heat won't or can't keep the Big Three intact after this season. Taking the above into consideration, and with the CBA beginning to take effect with punitive luxury taxes that owners want to avoid, are dynasties coming to an end?

Is the competitive balance shifting in such a way that the Indiana Pacers win a title one year, the Los Angeles Clippers the next, the Oklahoma City Thunder the next and the Chicago Bulls the next?

"We'll see," TNT analyst and former NBA player and executive Steve Kerr says. "I still think it comes down to great management and great talent. If you can accumulate that and keep your guys in one place, then you can.

"Miami's doing it right now. They've been to Finals three years in a row. To think that it can't happen again, I don't think the rules have changed that much where you just can't do it. The rules have made it harder to retain everybody."

Keeping two stars and paying them maximum or near-maximum salaries is certainly doable with today's CBA. The Houston Rockets have James Harden and Dwight Howard. The Thunder have Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. The Los Angeles Lakers have Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, the Clippers have Chris Paul and Blake Griffin and the San Antonio Spurs have Tony Parker and Tim Duncan.

Keeping three stars is becoming more difficult under the new escalating luxury tax.

"It's definitely hard to have that third guy and to hold on to him," Kerr says. "I don't like it. I like when teams can actually keep their resources. I would have loved to have seen Oklahoma City keep James Harden and see what those three guys could have put together over a decade. It would've been great.

"I understand it's a business and the owners are trying to cut costs. It's unfortunate that we're going to see teams bail out on guys. In theory, it should be more difficult to sustain a run and keep all your players."

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Will LeBron James and the Heat win a third consecutive NBA championship? USA TODAY Sports' Adi Joseph would bet on it. But he doesn't predict Miami will have the best record. Here are his NBA regular-season projections, from worst to best.
Derick E. Hingle, USA TODAY Sports

30. Philadelphia 76ers (16-66). Thaddeus Young, left, and Evan Turner will be 25 this season. That makes them veterans (and possible trade bait) for a team that seems bound for a high draft pick.
Howard Smith, USA TODAY Sports

26. Milwaukee Bucks (30-52). With the backcourt completely reorganized, Larry Sanders, right, and Ersan Ilyasova will have to carry the Bucks. How far can they go after a playoff bid last season?
Benny Sieu, USA TODAY Sports

25. Charlotte Bobcats (31-51). Owner Michael Jordan injected some energy into the franchise by announcing a name switch back to the Hornets for next season and adding Al Jefferson and Cody Zeller this offseason. But expect another long year on the court, albeit with some strides.
Sam Sharpe, USA TODAY Sports

24. Boston Celtics (32-50). Rajon Rondo, right, will get his chance at being the solo star after the offseason's overhaul. But first he has to return from a knee injury, and until then, Avery Bradley and company will struggle.
Daniel Shirey, USA TODAY Sports

23. Dallas Mavericks (32-50). Dirk Nowitzki, right, and Shawn Marion are the only players left from the Mavs' 2011 championship team. But they're aging, and the roster around them is questionable.
Matthew Emmons, USA TODAY Sports

20. Toronto Raptors (37-45). Rudy Gay, left, and DeMar DeRozan will have the green light, but can they improve their efficiency enough to boost the Raptors to the playoffs?
John E. Sokolowski, USA TODAY Sports

19. Minnesota Timberwolves (37-45). Ricky Rubio, right, is one of the faces of a franchise devastated by injuries the past two seasons. If Derrick Williams can contribute and Rubio and Kevin Love (not pictured) can stay healthy, the playoffs should be the next step.
Brace Hemmelgarn, USA TODAY Sports

18. Washington Wizards (38-44). When Bradley Beal, left, and John Wall played together, the Wizards were excellent last season. With health, this could be a key corner-turning year.
Geoff Burke, USA TODAY Sports

17. Atlanta Hawks (39-43). The Hawks went with a major overhaul this offseason, but they kept young guards Jeff Teague, left, and John Jenkins, who could blossom in his second year.
Howard Smith, USA TODAY Sports

16. New Orleans Pelicans (39-43). They have a new nickname, a new court, new jerseys and a 20-year-old in Anthony Davis ready to be the face of a franchise that could sneak into the playoffs after major offseason upgrades.
Derick Hingle, USA TODAY Sports

15. Detroit Pistons (41-41). The Pistons should be a playoff team again after a four-year absence. Second-year center Andre Drummond, in an increased role, figures to play a big part.
Raj Mehta, USA TODAY Sports

13. New York Knicks (43-39). The Knicks brought back much of their veteran roster from last season, including Raymond Felton (2), Tyson Chander (6) and star Carmelo Anthon (7). But is it experienced or just old?
Brad Penner, USA TODAY Sports

12. Denver Nuggets (43-39). After jettisoning coach George Karl and losing swingman Andre Iguodala and general manager Masai Ujiri, the Nuggets are a lot less threatening. But the team that posted the fourth-best record in the NBA last season has strength up front with Kenneth Faried, right, and JaVale McGee.
Raj Mehta, USA TODAY Sports

10. Memphis Grizzlies (47-35). Led by Zach Rand,olph, left, Marc Gasol, center and Tony Allen, the Grizziles have one of the toughest rosters in the NBA but overachieved a little last season.
Nelson Chenault, USA TODAY Sports

9. Brooklyn Nets (49-33). Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry (from left) are the headliners as the new additions, but the Nets will lean just as much on Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson (not pictured).
Debby Wong, USA TODAY Sports

5. Los Angeles Clippers (55-27). When Chris Paul, right, announced he was staying with fellow face-of-the-franchise Blake Griffin, Clippers fans let out a sigh of relief. When the team added coach Doc Rivers and better wings in the aftermath, championship aspirations began to form for Los Angeles' second team.
Crystal LoGiudice, USA TODAY Sports

4. Oklahoma City Thunder (58-24). Kevin Durant, right, found out he can't do it all by himself during the playoffs. Luckily, Russell Westbrook should be ready to go for another title push. But the bench is weaker than ever.
Jennifer Stewart, USA TODAY Sports

3. Houston Rockets (60-22). How will James Harden, right, and Jeremy Lin play alongside new star Dwight Howard? Expectations are higher than they have been in at least 15 years in Houston.
Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports

2. Miami Heat (61-21). Dwyane Wade, left, Chris Bosh, center, and LeBron James are still around. So yes, the Heat will be excellent. But will they match last season with its 27-game winning streak and amazing finish?
Benny Sieu, USA TODAY Sports

1. Chicago Bulls (65-17). Why will the Bulls have the best record in the NBA this season? Start with Derrick Rose's return. When he has played, they've excelled, and the roster he returns to after missing last season is better than any other he's played with.
Mike DiNovo, USA TODAY Sports

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Since 1980, nine organizations have won NBA championships, and five of those franchises have won at least two consecutive titles: the Lakers, Detroit Pistons, Bulls, Rockets and Heat. The Lakers and Bulls have won three consecutive titles during the last 23 seasons and the Bulls pulled off a three-peat twice. The Spurs won four titles in nine seasons.

But those were different days, when the luxury tax wasn't as financially oppressive for owners to pay. These days, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov of the Brooklyn Nets is the only owner without much care about how much he pays. Even the normally free-spending Lakers, Heat and New York Knicks have tried to reduce payroll, and several teams simply won't go over the luxury tax, meaning more teams have more money to offer top players, which ostensibly leads to more teams competing for titles. That's exactly what owners want.

"We're in the middle of this mini-Miami dynasty, but in theory it's going to get more difficult to win consecutive titles," Kerr says.

The Heat's James looks at the landscape and sees other teams in the league have improved. But he isn't willing to concede the days of dynasties are over.

"Some teams are fortunate to get guys in free agency, and some other teams are fortunate to get players out of the draft," James says. "Look at OKC. They've been fortunate to get some really good players (including Durant, Westbrook and Serge Ibaka) — KD, Russ and Serge — out of the draft. There's ways to put out a competitive team. You saw teams get better this season in ways that you were like, 'How did that happen?'

"Under the new CBA at the end of the day, if you have a great organization and an owner and GM who want to win, they're going to figure out a way to put a team out there that can compete for a championship."

Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, who also owns the Washington Capitals and deals with the NHL's hard salary cap, says it is too soon to predict the full impact of the CBA. But he is encouraged.

"Right now, the league's never been more competitive," Leonsis tells USA TODAY Sports. "But I do think it's still early."

Whether the Heat can continue to compete for championships with James, Wade and Bosh intact is unknown, and they don't want to discuss their potential free agency until after the season. Heat President Pat Riley says he will deal with that scenario when the time arrives — after the season.

"We'll be prepared for anything as we were in 2010," Riley says. "(This season) is going to be about trying to win a title and staying the course and doing that. At the same time, when 2014 (free agency) hits, we'll be ready to deal with that."

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Miami is not looking at winning three titles in a row. It is looking at winning another title, trying to minimize the magnitude of accomplishing the difficult task of winning three in a row.

The 2000, 2001 and 2002 Lakers were the last franchise to win three consecutive titles. Nearly overlooked in Miami's quest to win a third consecutive championship is that it is also trying to reach the Finals for the fourth consecutive season, something that hasn't happened since the 1984-87 Celtics, who won twice and lost twice.

"It's the same challenges every season presents itself for a championship-contending team," James says. "You're going to have ups and downs. You're going to have periods of time where teammates don't like each other, coaches don't like the players, (and) players don't like the coaches. … The No. 1 key thing is to stay healthy. If we're healthy, no matter who you put up against us, we can compete with anybody. If we're not healthy, it's going to be tougher."

Now, the Heat are certainly built for that kind of sustained success, given that they have three All-Stars, including James, the best player in the game and winner of the last two regular-season and Finals MVP awards.

Rashard Lewis, James Jones and Roger Mason will be asked to make up for what Mike Miller did, and Michael Beasley and Greg Oden could turn into valuable additions.

"We have to work at it. We cannot take any shortcuts and try to get to April right now in October," James says. "We know that. We preach it every day. We know how exciting April basketball is. And — if you're fortunate — to be able to play in May, and you're very fortunate if you're able to play in June.

"We have to accept the process, and we have to work at it every day to get better throughout the months."

Kerr knows how difficult it is to win three titles in a row. He was part of the last Bulls team to do it. Acknowledging the Heat are capable of winning it again, he's leaning toward another team lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

"It's a hard thing to do. It's hard enough to win one," Kerr says. "When you start stringing them together, it's incredibly difficult and historic. What Miami has done in the last three years is pretty awesome. But to expect to keep doing it when you see how precarious it is … they needed to pull out a miracle last season against the Spurs. They barely survived the Pacers."

He recalled what it was like during the playoffs as a member of the 1998 Bulls, who completed their second three-peat.

"If you look back at it, we were sort of teetering. We knew it at the time. It just seemed a lot harder," Kerr says. "We barely got past the Pacers in the East Finals in 1998. We pretty much breezed through the playoffs in '96 and '97. We were never really threatened. In '98, all of a sudden we're down 13 at home in the first half against Indiana in Game 7.

"We had to win Game 6 in Utah or otherwise we faced a road Game 7. You could feel how much tougher it had gotten, and everybody had gotten worn down. It's not just the physical aspect. It's the mental wear and tear."

Kerr looks around the league and sees improvement from the Clippers, Pacers, Nets, Bulls, Golden State Warriors and potentially the Knicks. Plus, the Spurs are still the Spurs. The Thunder will be in the mix, along with the Memphis Grizzlies.

"Think about the accumulation of the wear and tear, emotionally and physically, and you're doing that year after year and you're playing two extra months of games that are the highest-intensity games possible," Kerr says. "You do that three years in a row, and it wears on you.

"While that's going on, everybody is plotting to beat you. They're building their rosters around guarding you. They're scheming to find your weaknesses. Over the course of a few years, it just gets harder and harder."

James knows that, and right now he is embracing it.

"I believe it will be tougher, and that's the way you want it," he says. "This is the ultimate competition at this level, and you thrive in it."

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LeBron James holds the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP trophy in his right arm as he grabs the Larry O'Brien championship trophy with his left. James took his second of each June 20 as the Heat beat the Spurs in seven games.
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Game 6: It was easy to see why James wondered what else he could do, as he finished with 32 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds and three steals in the elimination-avoiding win.
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Game 2: With this dunk punctuating things, the second game was vintage James, as he had 17 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, three steals, three blocks and a plus-29 rating.
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